100 Very Best Restaurant 2016: Rasika and Rasika West End

Cost:

Restaurateur Ashok Bajaj and chef Vikram Sunderam have been repeatedly solicited to bring Rasika to New York and other dining-destination cities. Though Bajaj has no plans to expand outside of DC—he prefers to make daily rounds to his eight restaurants—it’s a testament to how special the Indian restaurant remains ten years into existence, not only in Washington but also on a national stage. Sunderam, who garnered his first James Beard Award in 2014 for best chef in the Mid-Atlantic, continues to helm the kitchens of the Penn Quarter original and younger West End sibling with a consistency and creativity that are rare. (Picking between the two is mostly a preference of neighborhood, though we’re partial to the original’s recently refreshed design.) His menu mixes traditional tandoori meats and curries with such inventive creations as snapper over creamy coconut noodles or braised lobster in a dough-encrusted vessel. Knowledgeable sommeliers are quick to recommend spice-friendly wines.

Anna Spiegel covers the dining and drinking scene in her native DC. Prior to joining Washingtonian in 2010, she attended the French Culinary Institute and Columbia University’s MFA program in New York, and held various cooking and writing positions in NYC and in St. John, US Virgin Islands.

Ann Limpert joined Washingtonian in late 2003. She was previously an editorial assistant at Entertainment Weekly and a cook in New York restaurant kitchens, and she is a graduate of the Institute of Culinary Education. She lives in Logan Circle.